Obama Ad Hits McCain's Winky-Dink Veep Pick

A wink is as good as a nod: An Obama ad finally takes on Palin and the unbearable frightfulness of her cutesiness, though not by itemizing her lies, sneers, and Joe McCarthy ways. It doesn't need to do that--just showing her face, at the right moment, casts her as the summation of John McCain's recklessness.

It's not unheard-of for a presidential nominee to run ads against the other guy's running mate. Dukakis hit Quayle, and Humphrey skewered Agnew (both to no avail). But beyond a few digs on the stump, Obama has largely tip-toed around Palin. And here, of course, Obama is only using Palin to make the point she seems to have been born to convey: That you can't trust McCain's judgment on the biggest issue of the day, the economy, because you can't trust his judgment on the biggest decision of his campaign, his veep. Simple, true, and wordlessly tied together with a pop-perfect punchline, her wink.

At first, I thought the silent treatment was a bad idea. Without a voice to reinforce the script, how many of us will bother to read the words? On the other hand, some viewers will mentally lean forward and "interact" with the ad by filling in the sound themselves. And one picture of a Palin wink is worth a whole barrel of ink.

The new McCain ad that came out on the same day is as scattershot as Obama's spot is pointed:

It's almost as if the McCain camp were defending the sloppiness of his entire campaign--which has careened over the past months from attacking Obama for being a celebrity to being a terrorist to being an uppity, commie Other who's going to give your hard-earned money to welfare cheats (and you know who they are). By looping back to the celebrity theme of last summer, McCain may believe he's countering the recent Robert Draper story in the New York Times Magazine that suggests he's losing because he could never settle on a specific narrative for his assault.

But what about that punchline: "He's not ready...yet."

Yet?

Why, only yesterday it was "Not ready," "Not ready to lead," "the most unready terrorist socialist hoping to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat ever." Is it possible that McCain's advisers are hedging with this line--if Obama wins, as appears likely, McCain will be able to say he didn't disagree with the verdict of the whole nation, just its sense of timing? Or is the "yet" some kind of unconscious projection of cover for the Palin pick, since even McCainiacs like Joe Lieberman are blurting, "Thank God, she's not going to have to be president from Day One. McCain's going to be alive and well."

One of the apparent goals of "TV Special," as this ad is called, is to force Obama's Wednesday night, 30-minute infomercial into that now very old celebrity frame. "Behind the fancy speeches, grand promises and TV special, lies the truth," the narrator states. As flashing cameras give way to boarded-up houses and car lots full of unsold minivans, we are supposed to conclude that the fame Obama hides behind has somehow led to our foreclosed future.

Expanding on that talking point, Palin's new BFF, The View's Elizabeth Hasselbeck (who became a celebrity the old-fashioned way--by appearing on a reality show set on an Australian beach), seems truly upset with Obama for buying 30-minute commercials on three networks (at roughly $1 million each) and handful of cable channels while people are hurting. "In terms of the economy, that is repulsive," she said.

Well then, what would spending $150,000 in a few weeks on wardrobe upgrades be? Cute, I guess. Nudge nudge, wink wink.

Comments (51)

1. Well, Hasselbeck is an idiot...getting pwn'ed by Rosie O'Donnell day after day proves that, given Rosie is no Rhodes Scholar. So obviously it's HI-larious that she attack Obama for buying air-time....but defends Palin's wardrobe.

   The funny thing IS that "Not ready...YET" thing.

   What the hell signal is McCain trying to send? Could it be "Let me be President and then Obama can defeat Palin when I decide not to run for a 2nd term! He'll be ready then!"?!??!?!?

   LOL

   Posted by Maskdelta at 10/29/2008 @ 9:59pm

2. This ad has been a long time coming as Palin is COMPLETELY TURNING OFF moderate Republicans like Colin Powell and independent voters.

   Palin also scares Jews and helps keep the Democratic base stay motivated and unified.

   This definitely has to be part of Obama's FINSH STRONG effort to sway independents and moderates to vote his way.

   Posted by Metteyya at 10/29/2008 @ 10:24pm

3. Another interesting point...

   http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls /2008/president/az/ arizona_mccain_vs_obama-570.html

   (yes, again, delete spaces to paste to Address in Explorer...geez, Joan Goodall, fix it, huh?)

   McCain nearly to Margin of Error....in his HOME-STATE!

   He's got better leads in a half-dozen Southern states and Utah....than among the people who've known him for 30 years!

   Posted by Maskdelta at 10/29/2008 @ 10:36pm

4. I suppose to some the wink means something positive.

   Neocons are fond of claiming to be super optimists. And who can blame them? They are immoral, hedonistic egomaniacs having the time of their lives wrecking the democracy, sending other's kids to spill their blood and raiding the treasury with endless convoluted schemes, a la Halliburton.

   They're mainly split off from all this, project the push of reality and their evil on to the left boogie man. Again with endless convolutions of logic.

   On the thin smirking monkey surface, they smack their lips and smile. They wear colorful ties, make grand claims, while actually living much differently in reality. They evade true military service while accusing others of not supporting troops, do the dirty in the hottub Saturday and preach piety Sunday.

   But the point worth better articulation than this (!) is the wink / smile / claims of optimism are desirable signals to authoritarian followers / "dittoheads", the "working class whites" that have precious little insight into how this helps them to suppress their inferiorities. This signals us-all-good / them-all-bad.

   The wink and conversely the opposite, the fear-is-near, warnings (Muslim, don't know him, un-American, won't wear flagpin, won't put hand on bible, swiftboat claims) signal:

   us-positive, us-funny/cute/jovial/smug/smirky/boastful/winners

   them-bad/weak/complainers/parasites/losers

   Posted by winyahn at 10/29/2008 @ 10:49pm

5. you still use explore?

   yuck.

   at least firefox, or opera.

   safari's good, too.

   Posted by frosty zoom at 10/29/2008 @ 10:56pm

6. The enemy is us, just more so for lower levels of development such as the immature stages of egocentrism to ethnocentrism.

   There's a huge, inner reason for each neocon's - and fake libertarian's/LV type's endless fending off of reality.

   Posted by winyahn at 10/29/2008 @ 10:57pm

7. us-positive, us-funny/cute/jovial/smug/smirky/boastful/winners them-bad/weak/complainers/parasites/losers Posted by winyahn at 10/29/2008 @ 10:49pm

   Yeah. It's like a tribalism, but when these members get somehow out of their zone and into the "other's" zone it's amazing how quickly they accept the openly given support of the "other."

   Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/29/2008 @ 11:04pm

8. Did I say something stupid?

   Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/29/2008 @ 11:24pm

9. Thirty Minutes??

   I've been watching MSNBC for six months.

   I couldn't tell when the time Obama paid for started and ended.

   Why would he buy what he's getting free??

   Send the money to a needy cause or something.

   What a waste of money.

   Posted by bleedingheart at 10/29/2008 @ 11:40pm

10. It isn't that McCain chose an unready VP that disappoints me the most. Its that he sold out what he was in order to appeal to his base. When he was an independant thinker and a clean campaigner I had a lot of respect for him. He lost that, and he lost my respect. I'd end his ad...John McCain...he isn't ready...anymore.

    Posted by Anhyzer at 10/29/2008 @ 11:41pm

11. winky dinky doo!!!

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/29/2008 @ 11:46pm

12. she winks like a barfly.

    Posted by reality check at 10/29/2008 @ 11:56pm

13. The 'winky' ad is once of the most effective bits of communication I have seen/heard till date. Great job from whoever made it!

    Posted by asian_observer at 10/30/2008 @ 04:25am

14. The one thing I want answered by McCain is this...when has he ever been President of these United States of America? Seriously, he keeps saying Obama wont know what to do, the role of President is on the job training for the first couple of months and possibly then some (unless your bush43 and you dont learn a damn thing). It so tiresome of McCain to keeping ramming down our throats the character of Obama when all he is doing in my eyes is turning off his own party and disenfranchising many Americans. Enough!

    Posted by jloughry1976 at 10/30/2008 @ 07:09am

15. dexter (and everyone) .... a pointed commentary on McCain:

    http://www.zipperfish.com/yaafm/yaafm-14-john-mccain/

    Posted by leftofcenter at 10/30/2008 @ 08:25am

16. Yeah, when I think "qualified and serious to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency"....I think...

    a flirty girl with a come-hither wink!

    Attaboy, Maverick!

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/30/2008 @ 09:08am

17. Yeah, when I think "qualified and serious to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency"....I think... a flirty girl with a come-hither wink! Attaboy, Maverick! Posted by Maskdelta at 10/30/2008 @ 09:08am

    Or I think crotchety old man who can barely keep his composure under the stress of the campaign trail.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/30/2008 @ 09:53am

18. a flirty girl with a come-hither wink!

    Attaboy, Maverick!

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/30/2008 @ 09:08am

    Come on Masky, ya gotta be a maverick to put a vapid-beauty queen-hockey mom nee' pitbull-winker a 72 year old post malignant melanoma heart beat from the presidency.

    It's axiomatic, really.

    You know, I'm just waiting for some wingnut zipperhead to claim that Johnny McNasty was the inspiration for the Tom Cruise character in Top Gun.

    Posted by skeletonman at 10/30/2008 @ 10:05am

19. Hey, did you guys know that John McCain was the inspiration for the Tom Cruise character in Top Gun?

    Posted by Benchrest at 10/30/2008 @ 10:11am

20. Hey, did you guys know that John McCain was the inspiration for the Tom Cruise character in Top Gun?

    Posted by Benchrest at 10/30/2008 @ 10:11am

    Oddly, I've read your prior posts and have not categorized you as a wingnut zipperhead.

    Posted by skeletonman at 10/30/2008 @ 10:16am

21. There are so many things wrong with McCain's campaign where does one start??? The first thing he should have done when he started throw George Bush back in the closet and think up some new policies to run on! The same ones that Bush has used for 8 years and failed miserably at doesn't turn a lot of voters on! But, I know the GOP base wouldn't vote for him if he tried to be a little more center than far right lunatic! The next biggest mistake was dear old Sarah! A hard core extremist fundamentalist that made all of we women run hard for Obama for refuge from the frigid chill of her presence. And all her cutesy winks, dumb statements (who ever said blonde's were the dumb ones), insults to our gender and complete lack of experience didn't help much with us women. I personally think she is another George Bush in lipstick with the IQ of a toadstool. But, that's just my opinion! The next has been his commercials that are turning most voters off. He has degenerated into a carping petty screeching male witch that doesn't turn anyone on. He can't run on his issues because voters know it's more of the same. So what does he have left but to sling mud at Obama and hope some of it sticks. No doubt it's stuck with some people but most of us are tired of McCain and his negative campaign. These are only a small sampling of what I see wrong with his campaign.

    Posted by ganddw42 at 10/30/2008 @ 10:16am

22. Posted by skeletonman at 10/30/2008 @ 10:05am

    Posted by Benchrest at 10/30/2008 @ 10:11am

    Well, if true...it would mean "Maverick" in "Top Gun" was married to another woman, but cheated on her because she "got fat" (after a horrific car accident) with Kelly McGillis who was a rich beer heiresss 20 years younger than Cruise.

    Must have missed that part!....heheh

    "Hiiiiighway...to...the Danger Zonnnne!"

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/30/2008 @ 10:20am

23. Posted by skeletonman at 10/30/2008 @ 10:16am

    I know. I couldn't resist.

    It COULD have been funny mr. serious.

    Posted by Benchrest at 10/30/2008 @ 10:21am

24. oops.

    I meant Dr. Serious.

    my bad.

    Posted by Benchrest at 10/30/2008 @ 10:25am

25. I meant Dr. Serious.

    my bad.

    Posted by Benchrest at 10/30/2008 @ 10:25am

    My sense of humor is rather dry; doesn't always come through blogging.

    I'm cool with the 'Dr.' stuff - I'm "a regular asshole just like everyone else" (as Umberto Eco puts it in Baudalino).

    Posted by skeletonman at 10/30/2008 @ 10:58am

26. I've been watching MSNBC for six months.

    I couldn't tell when the time Obama paid for started and ended.

    Posted by bleedingheart at 10/29/2008 @ 11:40pm

    This may be true of Olberman's and Maddow's shows - although she's less sloppy than Olberman has become - but this is BS for David Gregory and Chris Matthews' shows, and especially for Morning Joe. For months, Matthews' discomfort with Obama was obvious to any open-minded viewer, as he constantly harped on matters of style in both Obama's campaign and his personality, and dived into every idiotic side story dredged up by the GOP and Co.

    And I nearly fell off my chair this morning when Joe Scarborogh accused Mika Breshinski (whose names I have just butchered) of being in the tank for Obama. Ms. B had only spent weeks gushing over the Palin pick and defending her until that became utterly impossible. Again, both she and Joe seem profoundly uncomfortable with Obama, and Joe has become more and more hostile towards the Dem candidate while increasingly touting McCain. Worse, the show has spent tons of time talking about trivial crap instead of discussing the real issues of the economy, war, etc. with some of their better guests, including, I might add, Pat Buchanan.

    Posted by cka2nd at 10/30/2008 @ 11:03am

27. Well, if true...it would mean "Maverick" in "Top Gun" was married to another woman, but cheated on her because she "got fat" (after a horrific car accident) with Kelly McGillis who was a rich beer heiresss 20 years younger than Cruise.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/30/2008 @ 10:20am

    I think that they fudged that part for the movie.

    Somehow a smokin' hot PhD physicist is much more exotic than a drug-addict beer toter (at least in the figurative sense).

    Given the tenor of his campaign of late. "Highway to the Danger Zone" would be an apt theme song. I wonder if Kenny Loggins would object?

    Seems like every other musician has objected to his/her music being co-opted by 'Maverick.'

    Posted by skeletonman at 10/30/2008 @ 11:04am

28. Great string. McCain's aiming for a remake to be called "Top Gun - Aryan Style". Palin's got five kiddos to start. Suddenly, in an exciting twist, the ol' coot lands his F15 sideways in snowland, whips out his ol' McGun and gets to work. Cut to amorous, snowy scenes, white everywhere! Soon they have five more kids and plot the Great White North's takeover of the seedy, brown, corrupt, liberal, socialist, fake-American lower 48... First stop, Barack's White House where mayhem ensues!

    Posted by winyahn at 10/30/2008 @ 11:41am

29. What US city will vote 100% for John McCain?

    COLORADO CITY, ARIZONA.

    Why?

    Because for 26 years John McCain's been SPREADING AMERICA'S WEALTH to polygamists in Colorado City, Arizona who practice tyranny over women and children and receive 25-30 million a year in taxpayer handouts.

    How did John McCain's polygamists pay for the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado, Texas?

    They bankrupted the Ephraim Bank in Colorado City which cost taxpayers 13 million.

    BANKING ON HEAVEN . COM

    Posted by XPolygamistWife at 10/30/2008 @ 11:53am

30. I know. I couldn't resist.

    It COULD have been funny mr. serious.

    Posted by Benchrest at 10/30/2008 @ 10:21am

    It was.

    Posted by k330k at 10/30/2008 @ 12:03pm

31. Interestingly, while the Obama ad was airing, McCain spent his interview time with Larry King sniping about Obama.

    McCain's strategic plan for America's future - Was an "I know how to fix it," line followed by a wink. That's it. Boy, does that remind you of W or what?

    The rest of time - it was all about Obama and whining how Obama wouldn't do 10 Town Hall meetings with him way back when. Boohoo. McCain should have been grateful considering how crazy he acted at that one Town Hall–style debate.

    During the King interview you could actually see McCain's gears grind as he tried to shift all his answers to talking points. He was like a robocall on wheels. The only time McCain's eyes genuinely really lit up was when he talked about Palin being by his side. Otherwise, he seemed anxious to get the interview over.

    Posted by nationreader13 at 10/30/2008 @ 12:49pm

32. "Hiiiiighway...to...the Danger Zonnnne!"

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/30/2008 @ 10:20am

    Ya, but wouldn't that make Obama the Iceman? If memory serves, the Iceman scored the most points to win he top honors at the Top Gun school.

    The Mav just couldn't get his bearings after Goose (Palin) slammed into into the canopy due to a mechanical malfunction which aborted his ejection rather rapidly...in this case, it would be that the Goose (Palin) couldn't help the Mav (McCain) with his erection problem. LOL

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/30/2008 @ 1:00pm

33. in this case, it would be that the Goose (Palin) couldn't help the Mav (McCain) with his erection problem. LOL

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/30/2008 @ 1:00pm

    Sorry, forgot to add something here....in this case, it would be that the Goose (Palin) couldn't help the Mav (McCain) with his election (erection) problem. LOL

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/30/2008 @ 1:08pm

34. Now it all becomes clear; given that your thinking led you to support Obama as somehow qualified to be president shows you don't think.

    Posted by lvliberty1 at 10/30/2008 @ 2:02pm

    Liver, I believe MASK was having fun playing with words....think ryhmes with wink.

    He's also pointing out that McCain chose Palin due to her looks, not her long list of qualifications. You may be able to accuse Mask of many things, but not thinking isn't one of them.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/30/2008 @ 2:10pm

35. Now it all becomes clear; given that your thinking led you to support Obama as somehow qualified to be president shows you don't think. Posted by lvliberty1 at 10/30/2008 @ 2:02pm

    .....

    Hmm. So everyone in this country who is voting for Obama must be stupid is essentially what you are saying?

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/30/2008 @ 2:17pm

36. No one knows what qualifies one to be POTUS.One could could argue that McCain does not have the proper temperament,is not leadership material, and has a poor past voting record and is not qualified.

    Posted by i'm nobody at 10/30/2008 @ 2:24pm

37. lvliberty-A thinking person is not defined as one who agrees with you and it's the GOPs fault for coming up with such a sad choice and it's McCain's fault for coming up with Palin for VP who,by the way,is a bit of a socialist herself with the share the oil wealth, with Alaskans, and buy some votes policy.I would have preferred a Richardson,but one never knows when it comes to a POTUS.Many thinking people do not view unrestrained capitalism as a good thing.That's what's interesting about thinking people.They arrive at different conclusions.

    Posted by i'm nobody at 10/30/2008 @ 4:57pm

38. I would have assumed that you know the difference between not conducting a serious examination of the facts and a lack of intelligence. It seems I was wrong. I do seriously charge that anyone who conducts a serious review of the facts will come to a conclusion that Obama is not qualified for office. Secondly, a thinking person who does not embrace socialism or a trend towards socialism will also come to a negative conclusion as to voting for Obama. That was the case with my wife. Early in the year, she became excited about the idea as a woman of color to be able to vote for the first Afrioan American president. Later, I asked her to set aside listening to him and instead read the transcripts from the debates and his proposals in detail. That objective review conducted absent the emotionalism of listening to Obama caused her to abandon those plans. This week she cast her ballot instead for Alan Keyes who will not be elected, but better represents her political views. Posted by lvliberty1 at 10/30/2008 @ 4:20pm

    Ahhh. So I understand. Someone isn't allowed to have different view than you. Just because someone thinks that maybe the things is proposing are a positive thing they must be uninformed. I would contend that anyone who votes for McCain uninformed and is just voting on partisanship but where would that argument get us?

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/30/2008 @ 5:00pm

39. Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/30/2008 @ 5:00pm

    Wow. I seem to have lost my grasp of the English language in that post.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/30/2008 @ 5:02pm

40. I do seriously charge that anyone who conducts a serious review of the facts will come to a conclusion that Obama is not qualified for office.

    Secondly, a thinking person who does not embrace socialism or a trend towards socialism will also come to a negative conclusion as to voting for Obama.

    Liver, I would ask you to examine your position. So, you claim Obama is a socialist for wanting to give tax breaks to working Americans. What about McCain's tax cuts for wealthy folks? What would you call that? What the hell is the difference aside from the fact that the wealthy don't need friggin tax cuts.

    As we've seen, pure capitalism left unchecked is no better than socialism or any other form of power distribution. Ultimate power corrupts all and that includes American businessmen. The laws are nothing but a barrier they believe is in their way of profits. The only problem is that all lot of those barriers were put in place to keep them from running the economy into the ground. The same damn speculation happened in the 20's. People who want to get rich fast off money that isn't theirs playing fast and loose with non-existent cash has caused a good lot of our economy problems. That, and the fact that gas and oil prices skyrocketed as soon as W corrupt feet crossed the threshold of the White House doors.

    What we've had the last years is socialism for big business and it sucks to the nth degree. Examine that and if you can't see that, you don't think and you are voting for a socialist and wish to turn the U.S. into a business controlled social welfare state.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/30/2008 @ 5:03pm

41. Posted by lvliberty1 at 10/30/2008 @ 4:20pm

    While I admire your wifes decision to go third party I feel like in this country often times you are forced to vote for the lesser of the two evils. While she is going to vote for Keyes because he is closer to her politics it always feels like that is throwing away your vote. You end up having to vote for the person that is CLOSEST to your politics that actually stands a chance of winning.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/30/2008 @ 5:23pm

42. lvliberty-That's the same thing as saying that a thinking person arrives at the same conclusions as you.In other words,agrees with you not only about Obama,but,also,anything related to the subject of socialism.A thinking person can conclude that Obama is qualified by comparing him to other presidents and determining for themselves what makes one qualified for POTUS just as one can conclude that McCain is not qualified and you really only have the two choices..Does concluding that Obama is qualified enough to vote for him mean that you wish he wasn't more experienced?No.It just means that you'll take him over McCain or like his message and believe that his policies can work.

    Posted by i'm nobody at 10/30/2008 @ 5:45pm

43. And yes, I did say that a thinking person would not find Obama qualified. Not because they would be agreeing with me, but because the objective review would show the serious inconsistencies, the lies, the distortions, the effort to hide unfavorable facts, and most of all, the lack of any qualifications to be president. Posted by lvliberty1 at 10/30/2008 @ 5:33pm | ignore this person | warn this person

    Your opinion is not objective LVL. As much as you try to paint it that way your opinion is as partisan as many others. As much you seem to be painting yourself as the intelligent person who makes objective assessments and is "just telling it like its", you aren't. I contend that McCain's flip flops, his recent lack of good judgement, his lies and inconsistencies, his uncontrollable temperament and inability to perform under pressure does not qualify him to be President.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/30/2008 @ 6:33pm

44. I think the impressive thing about this Obama campaign ad is that it's positively negative; that is to say, it goes negative but feels positive, largely due to the pleasant, compelling music and the absence of the heavy voiceover. This is likely the one that will stick with me when I look back on this time.

    Posted by Merrimoose at 10/31/2008 @ 03:34am

45. The keyboard chord on the McCain advertisement is a Dbmi-maj9/Eb - one of the darkest harmonic sounds that exists in music! (without delving into to the atonal…).

    Especially when the chord moves up a minor third (in parallel movement) and then back down again.

    Some musician who knows the music of Herbie Hancock sold his soul to the Devil by giving McCain this typically Herbie voicing(circa 1968 - 1972) for this macabre ad of his.

    (and Herbie Hancock must be pissed ! ! ! !)

    Posted by ornette! at 10/31/2008 @ 11:20am

46. Wow, lvliberty, it seems your wife's choice in president is as insane as her choice of husband. Alan Keyes, my god.

    Posted by davefoley0 at 10/31/2008 @ 12:06pm

47. And yes, I did say that a thinking person would not find Obama qualified. Not because they would be agreeing with me, but because the objective review would show the serious inconsistencies, the lies, the distortions, the effort to hide unfavorable facts, and most of all, the lack of any qualifications to be president.

    Posted by lvliberty1 at 10/30/2008 @ 5:33pm

    Larry, most of those who post here do far more thinking in any 20-minute span than you apparently do in a week. The fact that you keep harping on your Obama-is-a Marxist-and-so-are-all-liberals bullshit is simply one more exposition of your utter aversion to anything resembling rational thought. Here's what, Larry - I'm a socialist of the Social Democrat stripe and I can tell you that Barack Obama is not a socialist. And it doesn't bother me one damned bit that he's not, because, in marked contrast to the thugs that seized the GOP decades ago and seized this country 8 years ago, Barack Obama is a good and decent man, who, given the chance, will do more for the betterment of this country and the 6+ billion people on this planet by 1:00 PM on January 20, 2009 than has been done by the entire American right wing in the last half century. On his worst days, Barack Obama is orders of magnitude more qualified for the presidency than any Republican president or presidential candidate since maybe Eisenhower (and Ike couldn't get nominated by the GOP today). And he's more qualified than any Republican anywhere in the last 48 years. And John Sydney McCain III doesn't come remotely close. And any objective reading of the facts will demonstrate that.

    Posted by jmusolino at 11/01/2008 @ 01:34am

48. The newly politicized WINK - - - - - how sophomorically tacky

    Winkin' - the complete female ... Sarah. Blinkin' - the blinkin' idiot ... Biden. and Nod - as in "the voters nodded off to sleep as socialism sloooowly crept

    into their homes and neighborhoods and walked off with their

    property rights, their secret ballot rights, their wallets, and their

    children's future." Upon awakening, the disillusioned voters wept. "You can't do this, President Obama," they whimpered. To which

    he whispered in soothingly sibilent tones, "Yesssss we can. We sssssaid we can change this country. Don't you remember?" And they nodded their heads, remembering.

    To paraphrase the author of this piece appearing on The Nation, " ... you can't trust (a man's) judgment on the biggest issue of the day, the economy, (if) you can't trust his judgment on the biggest decision of his campaign, his veep ..." In Obama's case, this would be the laughable, loveable stooge Joe Biden.

    The sad thing is, while I am a conservative and Joe Biden is not, I do not, CAN not, believe that Joe Biden has the foggiest notion ("notion" being one of Obama's favorite words) what in the world he has sold out his soul for. Of course, he sees only in the short term (which is the Vice Presidency), as people with his ambition and intelligence level are wont to do, but I just can't believe he fully comprehends the acute damage Obama is poised to do to our nation.

    Right here is where Obama and his ilk lose me: I don't give a flying fig if

    Europe or Asia or Africa likes us or hates us. Do they care what we think

    about them? Not so's you'd notice. When did we come to depend on

    popularity contests to define our national identity, anyway?

    Posted by 81w10 at 11/01/2008 @ 7:58pm

49. The rest of the story .....

    How popular were we with the crowned heads of Europe in 1776 ??? Yet, to

    whom did they come running when the chips were down in WWI and WWII?

    Hmmm? Who sent our troops and treasure in to defend the Muslin ... yes,

    MUSLIM ... populations of the former USSR ally Czechoslovakia as it broke into

    bits? The Balkans? Somali? South Korea? Who ? ? ? ? I could go on and on.

    Who rebuilt Germany and Japan AFTER defeating them in WWII? Who, after

    years and years of engineering research and developement of the Panama

    Canal turned it over to the Panamanians, lock, stock and barrel? Who (Bush)

    sent millions to fight AIDS in Africa?

    And they don't like us? With friends like them, who needs enemies?

    It is just as relevant to our national security that Russia is virtually on Alaska's

    doorstep as it was for Kennedy to risk a real war with Russia over missles 90

    miles away in Cuba.

    What is wrong with you people? If Obama is allowed to evicerate the United

    States of America, who will defend the rest of the nations against agressors?

    Oh, yeah ... Russia will be happy to do it. Just ask Georgia. Wink, wink.

    In my opinion, Leslie Savan and quite a few commentors here are simply jealous of Sarah. After all, none of the plain Jane's ever liked the cute cheerleader or the Homecoming Queen. You know its true. Otherwise, you'd be hoisting her up on your shoulders and shouting to the whole wide world "just look at what an American woman can do! Women of the world, be more like us. Throw off your yolks, your burkas, your condemning societies and join with the Sarah Palins and the Margaret Thatchers and the Golda Maiers and the Indira Gandhis and the Hillary Clintons and

    Posted by 81w10 at 11/01/2008 @ 8:03pm

50. The rest of the story .....

    How popular were we with the crowned heads of Europe in 1776 ??? Yet, to

    whom did they come running when the chips were down in WWI and WWII?

    Hmmm? Who sent our troops and treasure in to defend the Muslin ... yes,

    MUSLIM ... populations of the former USSR ally Czechoslovakia as it broke into

    bits? The Balkans? Somali? South Korea? Who ? ? ? ? I could go on and on.

    Who rebuilt Germany and Japan AFTER defeating them in WWII? Who, after

    years and years of engineering research and developement of the Panama

    Canal turned it over to the Panamanians, lock, stock and barrel? Who (Bush)

    sent millions to fight AIDS in Africa?

    And they don't like us? With friends like them, who needs enemies?

    It is just as relevant to our national security that Russia is virtually on Alaska's

    doorstep as it was for Kennedy to risk a real war with Russia over missles 90

    miles away in Cuba.

    What is wrong with you people? If Obama is allowed to evicerate the United

    States of America, who will defend the rest of the nations against agressors?

    Oh, yeah ... Russia will be happy to do it. Just ask Georgia. Wink, wink.

    In my opinion, Leslie Savan and quite a few commentors here are simply jealous of Sarah. After all, none of the plain Jane's ever liked the cute cheerleader or the Homecoming Queen. You know its true. Otherwise, you'd be hoisting her up on your shoulders and shouting to the whole wide world "just look at what an American woman can do! Women of the world, be more like us. Throw off your yolks, your burkas, your condemning societies and join with the Sarah Palins and the Margaret Thatchers and the Golda Maiers and the Indira Gandhis and the Hillary Clintons and

    Posted by 81w10 at 11/01/2008 @ 8:04pm

51. Well, crud ......

    ... the Hillary Clintons and yes, even the Nancy Pelosis and become REAL women of the 21st century." Sarah Palin tops Clinton and Pelosi in practical, demonstrable experience in running a legal entity such a a state government. Why are you so quick to discount this very important detail? SARAH IS THE ONLY ONE OF THE FOUR RUNNING ON THE NATIONAL TICKETS WHO HAS ANY HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE AT ALL ! ! !

    By the way ... the BIG losers in this election cycle are the pollsters, don't you

    think? What a farce they are. Don't they understand that no voter, likely or

    otherwise, has any obligation whatsoever to tell them the truth about their

    voting plans. Let the pollsters find out on election day who won or who lost,

    just like we voters have to do. Betcha' the headlines will be screaming about

    which pollster was more nearly right (or less wrong). What a hoot. Those

    polsters need to get a real job. I understand there's a fabulous make-work

    job opening for a community organizer in Chicago. Just hold your noses, Mr.

    Gallup, Mr. Zogby, Mr. Rasmussen, and submit your applications to Mr. Ayers,

    et al.

    Posted by 81w10 at 11/01/2008 @ 8:07pm